


midnight conversations

by BookRockShooter



Series: post s6 things to help me cope [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fix-It of Sorts, Friendship, Keith and Lance talk a little in the middle of the night, Keith's space dog is named Yorak and nobody can convince me otherwise, M/M, Post-Season/Series 06, implied klance, takes place just a while after the s6 finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-05-24 00:30:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14944235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookRockShooter/pseuds/BookRockShooter
Summary: Keith can't sleep, and neither can Lance. They end up talking.-*Takes place just a while after the s6 finale*





	midnight conversations

**Author's Note:**

> I stayed up till 5am watching season 6 and it was somewhat worth it tbh lmao
> 
> I wish we'd gotten more Keith & Lance interactions though tbh, which is why I wrote this. It's kinda awkward, because I was having a hard time getting their voices right, and even now it still doesn't feel right, but I couldn't make it sound any better than this, so w/e. I just wanted to post something about s6 lmao
> 
> Hopefully any readers enjoy!

Keith can’t sleep.

He supposes it makes sense. They’ve all had a hell of a day – Lotor turning on them, Shiro being revealed to have been some sort of clone ever since Zarkon, the battle with Lotor, the Castle of Lions getting destroyed… it’s been a lot.

Sighing, Keith sits up and stares out the window of his lion. Since the castle is no longer around, they’ve decided that their respective lions are going to have to do when they have to rest. Keith is sharing Black with Shiro, Krolia, and his space dog, Yorak; Allura and Coran took Romelle in with them in Blue; and the others just stay in their own lions. The set up works for them, but it’s a little crowded – for Keith, at least. He misses his room in the castle.

Keith glances to his right to check on Shiro. His hair is still a shocking white, which doesn’t seem in any hurry to go away. It makes him look older than he really is, and Keith feels a pang every time he looks at him, now. Shiro grew up too fast.

Honestly, they all did. Keith technically aged two years in the time that it took maybe a few days to pass for the others, and he can’t think about it for too long or he gets a headache. He sighs again and then gets up. If he can’t sleep, there’s no point in staying in the lion.

He exits and walks away from the lion towards where Allura healed Shiro when they first landed. When he gets closer, he suddenly realizes that somebody’s already there sitting on the ground and staring at the sky.

Tensing up, he stops. He’s debating on attacking when the person looks over their shoulder, and- oh. It’s just Lance.

“Oh,” Lance says, looking surprised. “Uh, hey, Keith. What’re you doing up?”

Keith blinks, then waves awkwardly. “Hi,” he calls. “I can’t sleep. Can I join you?”

Something close to apprehension flickers across Lance’s face, but he nods nonetheless. “Sure thing, man.”

“Thanks,” Keith mutters. When he reaches the other boy, he sits a careful distance away and turns his gaze up towards the sky.

He can’t remember where they are in the universe, right now, but wherever they are, it’s pretty. The sky is dark, but lit up by thousands of stars that cast thin rays of light on them. It’s beautiful, but eerie at the same time. Keith wonders if he’ll ever get used to space, then remembers that they’re heading home soon. There’s no point in growing used to it now.

“So,” Lance says suddenly, startling Keith. He turns to face Lance, who clears his throat, looking awkward. He doesn’t meet Keith’s gaze. “What, uh, what’s been going on with you?”

Keith thinks about how to answer. “A lot,” is what he finally says. It’s an honest answer, so he’s surprised when Lance laughs a little. It’s a nice sound, though. Keith’s missed it.

“Yeah, I kinda gathered that,” he replies, smiling slightly. He finally turns to face Keith, and his eyes widen. “I- oh,” he says, flushing and dropping his gaze. Keith shifts, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

“What?”

“The- the mark,” Lance elaborates, making a gesture at Keith’s face. “I forgot you had that for a sec. Sorry.”

Keith shakes his head, hair flopping around his face. “No, it’s, uh, it’s alright.” He moves his bangs out of his eyes, then makes a frustrated sound when they fall back. Lance looks over again eyebrow raised in question. “My hair,” Keith says to the silent question. “It grew out – obviously – while I was gone, and it’s just… annoying.”

“Yeah,” Lance says, “that makes sense.” They’re quiet again for a minute, then Lance adds, “Aactually, I’ve been meaning to ask. Why did you, like, get… bigger? Some sort of Galra-related thing?”

“What?” Keith frowns at Lance, who’s still staring at him – studying him, actually – and then understands. “Oh. Where I was with Krolia, time was different. Like, really different. We were technically there for two years, but here, it was only a few days for you guys.”

Lance’s mouth falls open. “Two years?!” he chokes out, eyes even wider than before. “How the hell does that even work?”

Keith looks away and shrugs. “I don’t know. It- it was weird. I knew that time was working like that only where we were, but… sometimes I’d wake up and wonder if, maybe, time was passing the same for you guys, too.” He pauses, wondering if what he wants to say is okay to admit, then decides he doesn’t care, so he continues. “I- I was scared that we’d finally come back, only to find out that you guys were… I don’t know, back on Earth, or… or gone. It wasn’t a great time.”

He doesn’t mean for the words to sound so depressing. But it was true; while he mostly focused on the mission during those two years, he also couldn’t help but sometimes worry about his friends. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience, the worry that plagued him when he allowed it to.

When he turns to Lance again, he’s is still staring, concern etched in his features. “That… jeez, man, that must’ve sucked. I’m sorry.”

Keith tries to give Lance a reassuring smile, but it feels wrong. He hasn’t smiled much in the past two years. “Well, I’m not there anymore, so…”

Lance smiles back a little. “We’ve missed you, y’know,” he says, and the words are so unexpected that Keith can’t help the shocked expression that he feels himself make. Lance must notice, because his smile falls and he continues with, “And I thought you missed us, but… I don’t know, you seemed like… like maybe you didn’t. I’m sorry if you’re uncomfortable now.”

“No, no,” Keith says, too quick and too loud. He shifts a little closer and lowers his voice again. “I did miss you guys. I was just stressed when I came back, that’s all. And… I’m sorry for how I reacted, when you spoke to me. I should’ve been… nicer about it.”

The guilt from their reunion has been with Keith since it happened, making him internally wince whenever he remembered the hurt and annoyance in Lance’s voice when he yelled about Keith being back. He’s never been the best at apologizing, but he knows that he hast to at least try to, now. Lance deserves that much.

A hand suddenly lands on his shoulder, and Keith chances another look at Lance. The other boy looks apologetic now as he says, “It’s fine, man. I’m sorry, that didn’t sound right. I wasn’t sure, since… I mean, you’ve got your mom with you now, and the real Shiro is back, and there’s also that cool space dog you have, so… I wouldn’t be surprised if you weren’t super concerned with the rest of us.” His hand falls away, landing on the ground next to Keith, and Keith stares at it. Then he takes a deep breath and slowly – carefully – places his own hand on top of Lance’s. Lance doesn’t say anything, just turns his hand over to interlace his fingers with Keith’s and squeeze slightly in a comforting manner. Keith’s heart hammers in his chest.

“I did miss you guys,” he says again, “of course I did. We may not get along all of the time, but… you guys are my friends. I care about all of you, even with my mom back. I’m sorry it didn’t seem that way.” He continues to stare at their hands.

“And I’m sorry for not realizing it,” Lance responds, then adds, “Wow, we’re apologizing to each other a lot right now. That’s weird.”

Keith actually laughs at that. “I don’t know, I think I could grow used to us being nice to each other for a change. It beats the yelling, at least.”

“Oh, c’mon, we didn’t yell at each other that much.” Lance is grinning now, and Keith feels himself smile back.

“I don’t know, I think the others would say differently.”

Lance waves a dismissive hand. “Ah, who cares.” He keeps smiling as he meets Keith’s gaze again, and they just watch each other for a few moments before Lance says, “I think I’m getting tired now.” Keith tries to not feel disappointed, but his smile feels forced anyway.

“Me too,” he lies, then stands up, pulling Lance with him. Their hands release from each other and then they’re standing in front of each other, the silence slightly awkward but nicer than it was before. “Uh… guess I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yeah,” Lance says, still smiling, though it’s smaller now. “Uh, Keith? Thanks for… I dunno, talking to me, I guess. It was nice. I’ve missed it.”

“It’s cool,” Keith says. “I’ve… missed talking to you too.”

Lance’s smile widens, just a bit. “That’s good. Glad it’s mutual. So… good night, sleep well, all that. Yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“G’night,” is all Keith says, and then they’re walking away from each other.

Once he’s back in the lion, Keith lays back on the floor of the cockpit and stares at the ceiling. It was nice to talk to Lance again, even though it’s been awhile since they were able   
to have a regular conversation. He hopes that tonight wasn’t just a one-time thing and that they’ll be able to actually talk more and maybe become better friends, now that saving the universe isn’t their number one priority. God, he hopes so.

He falls asleep thinking about Lance’s smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Alrighty, there's that lmao. I may try to write more (better-) things for s6, bc while I quite enjoyed it, I wanna mess with and attempt to fix some things I didn't like lmao whoops-
> 
> You can find me on tumblr (@bookrockshooter) where I recently posted some stuff about s6 so if you're interested, there's that~
> 
> Have a good day!


End file.
